Parasites Status of Village Chickens ( Gallus gallus domesticus) in Selected Communities in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Abstract

Parasites constitute a major obstacle to poultry production, leading to significant losses in many poultry farms. This study investigated the parasites status of village chicken (Gallus domesticus) collected from selected communities in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State Nigeria, during January to March 2020. A total of 35 birds were collected from 5 communities: Igbogeni, Tombia, Agudama, Akenfa and Opolo to assess their parasitic status. The procession of the chicken and the identifications of both ecto and endo parasites followed standard techniques. From the results, the prevalence of the ecto parasites and the endo parasites in the chickens were 85.71% and 88.57% respectively. The ectoparasites species in order of increasing frequency were Lice (37.65%), Fleas (32.94%), and Mites (29.41%). Mixed infection of lice & fleas accounted for 34.12%. The prevalence of endo parasites was: Nematode (71.59%) and Cestode (28.41%) respectively. The species specific prevalence of the endo parasites encountered were Ascaridia galli (44.4%), Heterakis gallinarum (22.2%), Capillaria spp. (33.3%), Davainea proglottina (56%), Raillientina spp. (44%) respectively. This present study has provided an insight into parasitic infection of domestic birds across communities in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State Nigeria and recommended that an intensive health education on their public health implications in the spread disease causing pathogens among humans be carried out.